Light Leaks

gary in nj · Mar 20, 2017

I bought my college aged son an SRT201 for Christmas. He shot a few rolls while at school and while he was home for Spring break we developed the film.

The film shows light leakage at the upper and lower sprockets (can't read "Kodak" or the frame numbers anywhere on the film) on the frames. Indoor photos are usable but outdoor photos are overexposed across the frames - the greater the amount of ambient light - the worse the problem.

My thought is there is light getting past the shutter curtain. Is there a way to adjust this or is the camera now just a piece of history?

Hatchetman · Mar 20, 2017

none of these old cameras seem to work without a proper servicing. cost $70-$100.

Ricardo Miranda · Mar 20, 2017

It seems to me that you only need to change the light seals.
It is an easy job when you know and have done a few cameras.
The hardest is to remove the old light seals.
See http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/sealreplacement.html
There are also numerous You Tube videos about it.

John Koehrer · Mar 20, 2017

Most likely is what Ricardo says. The clue is it's fogging un the sprocket holes.
Do that then go looking for less obvious problems.

gary in nj · Mar 21, 2017

Thanks for the advice guys - I never thought of that (obviously ). I checked the camera and the seals are in fact dry and flaky. There is also a rough edge on the lower part of the door itself, probably from the moisture that was held in the original seal. I'll order a seal kit from US Camera ($7.65 on ebay) and hopefully all will be good.

My son is really loving analog photography and darkroom work. When he went back to school this weekend he asked if he could bring my SRT-202 with him. I offered him my XD11 and he said - no thanks, I prefer the manual meter over the autoexposure. Good kid

Helios 1984 · Mar 21, 2017

gary in nj said:
Thanks for the advice guys - I never thought of that (obviously ). I checked the camera and the seals are in fact dry and flaky. There is also a rough edge on the lower part of the door itself, probably from the moisture that was held in the original seal. I'll order a seal kit from US Camera ($7.65 on ebay) and hopefully all will be good.

My son is really loving analog photography and darkroom work. When he went back to school this weekend he asked if he could bring my SRT-202 with him. I offered him my XD11 and he said - no thanks, I prefer the manual meter over the autoexposure. Good kid

You can also get light seal kits from John Goodman (jon_goodman@yahoo.com), he does not sell on ebay anymore but you can still contact him directly.

tdunn81 · Mar 25, 2017

Ditto on the light seals. eBay or other sources (I used Jon Goodman in the past)...15-20 job and you're back in business for another 40 years.

gary in nj · Apr 12, 2017

I replaced the light seals as suggested and shot a roll of film - all is good. Thanks for pointing out such an easy solution.

The kit I received from US Camera was a very good quality kit. I used a screwdriver with a 1mm head to remove the old seal, some alcohol to clean the surface and made a tool out of a q-tip to assist in getting the new seal in place.

Light Leaks

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